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I'm on linux an I want to know how to find the latest executable file in a directory? I already know how to find the latest with:

ls -rt1 | tail -1

but how to filter out executable files?

EDIT: I found a solution:

find path/to/dir/myfile* -perm /u=x,g=x,o=x -mtime 0 | tail -1

is this save? or is there a better solution??

fedorqui
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user1895268
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1 Answers1

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Given the basic find command to look for files starting on current directory:

find . -type f

Let's add functionalities:

  • To find executables you can use the -executable option:

    find . -type f -executable

  • To just find on one level of depth, that is, not within subdirectories, use the -maxdepth 1 option:

    find . -maxdepth 1 -type f

  • To find last modified file in a directory, you can use How to recursively find the latest modified file in a directory?:

    find . -type f -printf '%T@ %p\n' | sort -n | tail -1 | cut -f2- -d" "

All together, this looks for last modified executable file in one level depth:

find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -executable -printf '%T@ %p\n' | sort -n | tail -1 | cut -f2- -d" "
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fedorqui
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  • Ok but i want to get the **latest** executable of a specific directory not all the executables. i found a solution i added to my post look at the edit note. I want to ask if this is save or is there a better solution – user1895268 Sep 03 '14 at 14:41
  • Did you read the full answer? Last command returns a single file, you just have to replace `find .` for `find /your/dir`. – fedorqui Sep 03 '14 at 14:42